Markup calculator

Know what to charge — and what you keep.

Your price appears right here as you type — or press the button to try example numbers.

Good to know

What markup means

Markup is profit expressed as a percentage of what a product costs you, not what it sells for. Buy a shirt for $8, sell it for $16, and you've applied a 100% markup, since the $8 of profit equals 100% of the $8 cost. Retailers like markup because it's fast to apply: take the cost and multiply.

What your markup number means

Enter your unit cost and the markup you want, and the calculator returns your price, profit per unit, and the margin that markup actually leaves you, a number most markup tools skip. Or reverse it: enter your cost and a competitor's price to see what markup it represents. Everything updates as you type.

Markup vs. margin: the 50% trap

A 50% markup is not a 50% margin, and this trips up a lot of new sellers. Mark an $8 cost up by 50% and you charge $12, keeping $4, only 33.3% of the price. Markups grow much faster than the margins they buy, so doubling your money with a 100% markup still only yields a 50% margin.

Worked example: keystone and beyond

Keystone pricing means a 100% markup, simply doubling your cost, and it's the retail default for apparel and gifts. An $8 t-shirt keystoned sells at $16: $8 profit and a 50% margin, enough cushion to absorb markdowns. If a competitor sells a similar shirt for $20, that's a 150% markup and a 60% margin, evidence you could price higher.

Common markup conventions

Markup conventions vary by industry: apparel commonly runs 100–150%, restaurants mark up ingredients 200–300%, packaged grocery survives on 10–40%, contractors add 10–25% to materials. Treat these as a starting point, not a ceiling: your real constraint is what the market will pay.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate markup?

Markup = (price − cost) ÷ cost × 100. An $8 item sold for $16 has a (16 − 8) ÷ 8 × 100 = 100% markup.

What is keystone pricing?

Keystone pricing means doubling your cost, a 100% markup. It's the traditional retail default for apparel and gifts, leaving a 50% margin.

Is a 50% markup the same as a 50% margin?

No. A 50% markup on an $8 cost gives a $12 price, only a 33.3% margin. You need a 100% markup to actually keep a 50% margin.

How do I convert markup to margin?

Margin = markup ÷ (100 + markup) × 100. A 25% markup is a 20% margin; 100% markup is 50% margin; 300% markup is 75% margin.

What markup should I use for my product?

Start from your industry norm: ~100–150% for apparel, 200–300% for restaurants, 10–40% for grocery, then check the margin it leaves.

Do you save what I type?

No. The calculator runs entirely in your browser: nothing is sent to a server or stored.

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